Shunned at school because he sprouts flowers every full moon, Rink Bowagon makes a special pair of shoes for a classmate who is able to appreciate his unique abilities.

2020-2021 Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Award List Notable Social Studies Trade Books list – Winning Title! 2019 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award - Winning Title Florida Book Award Gold Winner Recipient of the 2019 Eureka! Honors Award Winner -Best of 2019 Kids Books - Most Inspiring Category As a boy, Jadav Payeng was distressed by the destruction deforestation and erosion was causing on his island home in India's Brahmaputra River. So he began planting trees. What began as a small thicket of bamboo, grew over the years into 1,300 acre forest filled with native plants and animals. The Boy Who Grew a Forest tells the inspiring true story of Payeng--and reminds us all of the difference a single person with a big idea can make.

Sweet and gentle David becomes despondent when the colorful flowers in his hair turn into twigs, but his best friend's clever idea helps him regain his joy.

Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustrated Book A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year In this wordless picture book, a little girl collects wildflowers while her distracted father pays her little attention. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. “Written” by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, Sidewalk Flowers is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

When young Arlo accidentally drops a book on the Mayor’s head, the Mayor decides books are dangerous and destroys all the books in town! But thanks to Arlo’s imagination and perseverance, the Mayor finds that suppressing stories cannot stop them from blossoming more beautifully than ever. This timely allegorical tale will be a useful tool for starting conversations with children about the power of activism and the written word.

An accomplished debut, The Flower Boy is the tragically romantic story of people from two cultures, one ruling the other, and the human passions that defy and nearly overcome social taboos. In the colonial society of 1930s Ceylon, the separation between servant and master is clearly drawn. Young Chandi, however, knows that the baby born to his mother’s mistress will be his friend. And, indeed, their friendship blossoms in the lush gardens of the tea plantation on which they live. Many, English and Ceylonese, are troubled by the friendship, but the English planter is charmed by the children’s bond, and ultimately by Chandi’s mother, Premawathi. But the world encroaches on their Eden. Beautifully observed, compellingly plotted, The Flower Boy is a compassionate novel of a lost world and those who struggled to hold on to it.

A heartbreaking fable about nature and our relationship with it, and about the inevitable cycle of life. And then, as if on cue, the baby shaped its mouth into a perfect circle, drew breath into its cheeks and, curling its tiny tongue upon its bottom lip, breathed the long soft sound of wind in the trees. This is a tale of storms and bushfires and wild bees. It is a tale of an old couple and an unexpected gift from the bush. A gift they must one day return . . .

Andrew has a hobby: gardening. As soon as he is offered a new job that will allow him to move into a house with a large garden, he does not hesitate for a second and he accepts. But... What if work interferes with what you like best in the world? Although he works as a train mechanic, Andrew’s real passion is gardening: he loves flowers so much that his little apartment is full of plants of all shapes and sizes. When a company offers him a new job with a good salary and a house with a big garden, Andrew accepts without hesitation, unaware that maybe he’s putting at risk things much more important than his job or his hobby... The Gardener’s Surprise is a moving story about the importance of our beliefs in our daily lives, as well as a celebration of indulging in personal passions as an excellent way of achieving happiness.

A girl and her neighbor grow a community from their garden. Grace thinks Larry’s garden is one of the wonders of the world. In his tiny backyard, Larry grows extraordinary vegetables, with Grace as his helper. They water and weed, plant and prune, hoe and harvest. And whenever there’s a problem, Grace and Larry solve it together. Grace soon learns that Larry has big plans for the vegetables in his garden. And when the garden faces its biggest problem yet, Grace follows Larry’s example to find the perfect solution. Amazing things can grow when you tend your garden with kindness.

Near the woods live a little boy and his mother. The mother warns her son to watch out for wolves, but he doesn’t listen. Instead he chases rabbits. And in the woods live a wolf cub and his mother. The wolf warns her son to watch out for people, but he doesn’t listen. Instead he chases rabbits. What will happen when the boy and the cub cross paths in the forest?